Sun close-up - Dec 30, 2011

This close-up of part of the Sun was taken on December 30, 2011 at 11:54 am using a telescope with a pair of hydrogen-alpha filters.  The large sunspot group A.R. 1388/1389, a source of M-class solar flares, is highlighted toward the bottom of this image by a pair of dark sunspots, bright plages surrounding them, and a network of dark filaments.  On the left, prominences rising from the surface of the Sun are probably associated with the same region of activity.  Dramatic filaments near the top of the image mark the location of another sunspot group.

Telescope: 60mm Hydrogen-alpha telescope with double-stacked filter.

Camera: Lumenera SKYnyx 2-2M